CAV worth the extra money??

[JayPSC]

Been pricing up the various manufacturers of kits available in the UK & although the CAV is a fair bit dearer I think the Mono chassis looks fantastic. Only thing with the CAV is that a lot of stuff, carpets, interior etc etc is not included so it does bump the price up a bit, but it is available immediatly.

So the main question, is the CAV worth the extra £4-5k I'd need to spend?

Regards
Jay

 

[Andy Besic]

Jay
I don't intend to sound snotty, but, only YOU can put values on the trade-offs between the different cars. You can search and find discussions on Mono vs space frame, Transaxle choice, chassis stiffness, fit and finish and price/cost.
Something else to consider is the growing demand for GT40 replicas with the potential loss of one of the manufacturers. This could temporarily make lead times from manufacturers grow.

 

I think the mono chassis is the 'heart' of a GT40. This is what attract me to it. An older fiberglass tub style is not at all attractive to me and neither is a space frame. But only for this car. I like space frames, they are awesome, but a GT40 should be a mono in my opinion. So to answer your direct question: "CAV worth the extra money??" YES. Without a doubt for me...


Good Luck.

Johnny

 

[David Briggs]

The extra money will be well spent, you will not be thinking about that when you are working on it, admiring the quality of the design, materials, workmanship and the ability to get it up and running very quickly. Once the engine is lit and you are under way you will know it is worth the price of admission! When you are finished with the project $3-4,000 difference in initial cost is peanuts.
Any post of this sort is dangerous and I only want to say that I am happy with my CAV and have always felt it was good value. I have not owned or driven any other type of GT40 but I have seen lots of different types and they are all great.
IMHO

 

[JayPSC]

Yeah I was pretty much swayed towards the CAV as soon as I saw the chassis, just wanted to hear opinions other than the one in my head telling me to buy it lol.
I get the feeling that if I bought a Tornado etc, I'd just be wishing I'd spent the extra & bought the CAV. Gonna be stretching the budget a bit but i get the feeling that the CAV is the way to go, think I'll try to find alternative sources for gauges etc to save some money.

Thanks
Jay

 

[John Place]

Jay;

I have a CAV GT40 and had considerable experience with many others. The CAV is well worth any extra.

Good luck

John

 

[Pat]

Hi Jay,

I have also enjoyed my CAV and would recommend it. Like the others mentioned though, it would be a good investment to ride in a completed car of all the brands you consider. I like the fact that my car is as tight as a drum without a rattle or click even on the roughest of roads. I thank the mono for that.

 

Hi Jay - interested in your post. I have built one of these cars in the UK so if you have any questions feel free to PM me. In fact if there is anyone else out there in the UK who has built a CAV I'd like to hear from them!

I settled on this car from the alternatives after seeing a built car at one of the car shows, seeing the quality and because it is a mono! Then as now I guess it was more expensive than the competition but not radically so. Most of these cars are very good though and what particularly appeals to you is a personal thing.

I did find that I spent quite a bit more than the "base price" which is the norm I guess for a built project unless you have an iron will! My experience was that there were quite a number of mostly small items that needed to be obtained and this does tend to make the cost mount up. My advice would be not to compromise where you can see / feel the effect - by all means shop for the best deal on parts but for those elements critical to the look and feel of the car like the gauges, you will want the best. I fitted Smiths which are made in South Wales and as it did not make sense for these to be shipped to South Africa and then back to the UK I sourced them directly. I would also go for a/c and full leather fit out - this means the dash, seats, centre console and roof lining.

Also I would recommend buying the kit with the body panels already fitted as this largely cuts out what I'm told is a very painful and time consuming process of fitting them - like a 3 D jigsaw!

The one thing I might have changed, which is worth you thinking about, are the wheel sizes. 15 inch are the authentic size but big tyres for the rear on 10 inch wheels of high enough speed rating ("V" or "W" for UK SVA) are practically non existent. I believe there will be an Avon tyre out in the summer though that will fill this gap.

Finally don't underestimate the number of detail changes you will need to address to get the car UK SVA compliant. Fundamentally the cars are okay but there are quite a few things you will need to change ( this applies to any car but the UK manufacturers are better geared up for it I think).

Brian

 

[Mike Dozier]

Jay

Generally...the mono makes no difference in performance.
How well the package is engineered and completed does.

That said...the mono obviously is a little more original,
that some find irresistable. It sounds like you want a
mono, and if you can swing the extra cost, you won't second guess yourself. And most likely the extra cost
would be recouped at resale anyway...so why not treat
yourself. Life is too short.

MikeD